There is if we act now, there isn't if we wait until we are "sure" in 2029. They will have a better orbit this year after more observations. Then we will may to decide what to do. Maybe it will depend on who it will hit.

99sportster:John Napkintosh: I'm reading 9 million miles on other sites. Where the hell did this site get 13,000 miles?

Exactly. This guy (or gal) is an idiot. And a fear-monger. A fear-mongering idiot.

I'm thinking it's supposed to pass within 13,000 miles on the second pass. When the asteroid was first discovered, it actually had a decent chance of hitting on the second pass, receiving a risk number of "4", and was the first asteroid to have received a risk rating higher than "1".

"What does essentially zero mean exactly? Let's review some history. When Apophis was discovered in 2004, astronomers calculated that there was a very small probability (up to 2.7%) that it would strike the Earth in 2029. That was clearly unsettling, but the concern was short-lived. The 2029 impact possibility was quickly ruled out, but, almost as quickly, another possibility reared its head: a possible impact in 2036. For a time, astronomers thought there was a 1-in-45,000 chance that Apophis would strike Earth on April 13, 2036. Then, in October 2009, the numbers were updated again, and the impact possibility decreased again. Currently, the chance of an impact with Earth by asteroid Apophis in 2036 has dropped to about 1-in-250,000. While greater than your chance of winning a lottery (many millions to one), it's still very very unlikely. That's the number David Helfand calls essentially zero. Astronomers believe the possibility will drop to absolutely zero after the early 2013 pass by Apophis."

There is zero chance that it hits us this pass. They think there is a minute chance that is essentially zero that it could hit us in 2036 but they'll be certain after it passes.

KarmicDisaster:HMS_Blinkin: If it does it does. Nothing we can do about it.

There is if we act now, there isn't if we wait until we are "sure" in 2029. They will have a better orbit this year after more observations. Then we will may to decide what to do. Maybe it will depend on who it will hit.

Where are you getting 2029 from? I thought this thing was near us today.

HMS_Blinkin:KarmicDisaster: HMS_Blinkin: If it does it does. Nothing we can do about it.

There is if we act now, there isn't if we wait until we are "sure" in 2029. They will have a better orbit this year after more observations. Then we will may to decide what to do. Maybe it will depend on who it will hit.

Where are you getting 2029 from? I thought this thing was near us today.

Yeah, thanks for the misleading headline, subby. The danger from this is not on this pass, but on subsequent. Such headlines just get people to dismiss this as nothing when there is actually a danger. At the moment this is the most potentially dangerous we have ever seen. That will be refined after this pass.

KarmicDisaster:HMS_Blinkin: KarmicDisaster: HMS_Blinkin: If it does it does. Nothing we can do about it.

There is if we act now, there isn't if we wait until we are "sure" in 2029. They will have a better orbit this year after more observations. Then we will may to decide what to do. Maybe it will depend on who it will hit.

Where are you getting 2029 from? I thought this thing was near us today.

KarmicDisaster:HMS_Blinkin: KarmicDisaster: HMS_Blinkin: If it does it does. Nothing we can do about it.

There is if we act now, there isn't if we wait until we are "sure" in 2029. They will have a better orbit this year after more observations. Then we will may to decide what to do. Maybe it will depend on who it will hit.

Where are you getting 2029 from? I thought this thing was near us today.

/farking from my phone so I might have missed something

It is the next pass that is the problem, not this one.

Yeah but even if we calculate that it's going to hit us, we have 20 years to train Bruce Willis and his team instead of just a few months so we're gonna be fine. I don't know if he'll volunteer to blow himself up again.

HMS_Blinkin:KarmicDisaster: HMS_Blinkin: KarmicDisaster: HMS_Blinkin: If it does it does. Nothing we can do about it.

There is if we act now, there isn't if we wait until we are "sure" in 2029. They will have a better orbit this year after more observations. Then we will may to decide what to do. Maybe it will depend on who it will hit.

Where are you getting 2029 from? I thought this thing was near us today.